SHEFKI Kuqi insists Blackburn Rovers are ready to take their frustrations out on Birmingham City when the two clubs go head-to-head at Ewood Park.

Kuqi and his Blackburn team-mates are still seething after a mistake by referee Mark Halsey cost them the chance of gaining a positive result at Anfield last weekend.

Rovers were forced to play for nearly an hour with 10 men when Halsey controversially dismissed Zurab Khizanishvili for what he deemed to be a professional foul on Djibril Cisse.

The FA have since rescinded that red card, which means the Georgian defender will be free to line up against the Blues this weekend.

But that's of scant consolation to Kuqi and his colleagues, who are still ruing the loss of three precious Premiership points as they prepare for the visit of struggling City.

Kuqi said: "Everyone was disappointed after what happened last week.

"The referee was heavily involved in the outcome of that game and we thought at the time it was never a sending off.

"But that's gone now, we need to put it out of our minds and concentrate on putting in a decent performance against Birmingham."

Rovers hardly needed any extra motivation going into the game considering the simmering animosity that exists between the two rival camps.

Relations first became strained between the clubs when Rovers launched their bid to sign Robbie Savage in January, a move which prompted accusations from Birmingham that their star player had been 'tapped up'.

That relationship then deteriorated further when Birmingham refused a request by Rovers to revoke a clause in the Savage deal that prevented the Welshman from playing in the meeting between the two clubs at St Andrews in April, a fixture which the Blues went on to win 2-1.

Then throw in the history that exists between Rovers' assistant manager Mark Bowen and Birmingham boss Steve Bruce, who were once an effective managerial team until Bowen quit St Andrews after a row over his international commitments with Wales, and it's easy to see why the sparks could fly tomorrow.

However, Kuqi is more concerned with trying to ensure Rovers improve their home form rather than seeking to inflict further misery on a Birmingham side that will start the day in the Premiership's bottom three.

"Football's a funny game and we can't think about what a bad time they are having, we've got to think about how we are going to perform," added Kuqi, who may have to settle for a place on the bench with Craig Bellamy available again.